Has curse of Bell Pottinger killed boss’s wedding?
HEATHER Kerzner, the ex-wife of South African billionaire Sol Kerzner, put her money where her mouth is when she agreed to marry Bell Pottinger chief James Henderson on Valentine’s Day.
Shortly after Henderson proposed over dinner at Scott’s restaurant in Mayfair, Kerzner invested a large sum in his PR firm, presumably hoping that the well-connected pair could forge a working, as well as a romantic, partnership.
But now that Bell Pottinger is on the brink of collapse due to a scandal that forced Henderson to resign as CEO last weekend, the future of both unions seems uncertain.
A friend of Henderson’s tells me that his November wedding to Heather is off.
‘ The wedding has been postponed,’ the friend says.
‘ No new date has been set yet.’
Heather seems to have been bowled over by Henderson after the pair (right) were introduced by the Duchess of York in 2015 following Heather’s divorce from Kerzner, an octogenarian hotelier described as South Africa’s answer to Donald Trump. This spring, the wealthy divorcee took a 15 per cent stake in Bell Pottinger and became its major shareholder. Following her investment, she and Henderson owned almost 40 per cent of the company. However, Bell Pottinger’s South African connections soon turned toxic.
This week, the PR firm was expelled from the industry trade body after being accused of orchestrating a campaign that incited racial hatred to promote the interests of the Guptas, one of South Africa’s most powerful business dynasties. The scandal has damaged Henderson’s reputation, and it is unclear whether Heather will get her money back from Bell Pottinger, which is reported to have debts of almost £6 million.
Heather, 48, and Henderson, 52, have six children between them. Before the scandal broke, they had drawn up plans for a two-part society wedding in London: a Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, then a party organised by Tom Freud, nephew of PR guru Matthew Freud, on Saturday.
This week, Heather said the impact of the crisis on her and Henderson has been ‘devastating’.
‘It has been horrendous,’ she said.